A picture of an Orthodox Jew encased in a giant plastic bag is causing some debate on the Internet this week, as commenters attempt to explain the man's unusual traveling garb.

Redditor "FinalSay" posted the picture of the man early Thursday morning to the r/atheism subreddit, with the caption, "An Orthodox Jew in an airplane with women - so he covers himself with a plastic bag..."

Ultra-Orthodox Jews adhere to a strict set of guidelines that include gender segregation in public. In fact, Haaretz reports that Israeli airline El Al has noticed an increase in the number of ultra-Orthodox men asking to switch seats to avoid sitting next to women. (One woman even sued the airlines for allegedly moving her to the back of a plane after ultra-Orthodox men refused to sit next to her.)

However, netizens were quick to point out that the "flying with women" explanation may not be entirely accurate.

5. Can anyone find an argument that a plastic bag insulates him better

from the unholy rays that apparently emanate vertically, but not horizontally, from a cemetery, and which a few km of air, and the metal fuselage of the plane, cannot stop? It should be funnier to read than The Onion. It astounds me that the followers of this sect have not laughed themselves to death when they've realised what they are doing.

(edit: 'insulates', not 'insults'. But I have to say that whoever came up with the idea of certain people having to climb inside a plastic bag when they might fly over a cemetery may well have had the idea of insulting the gullible in mind ...)

6. Does it *really* astound you?

I mean, is it really more ridiculous than believing that the all powerful magical ruler of the universe really really needs you to believe his virginly conceived human offspring got nailed to a cross for your sins in order to make it possible for it to forgive you for being imperfect like it made you in the first place, otherwise it has no choice but to condemn you to oblivion/eternal torment?

You know, just for example? The irrationalities of the religious stopped astounding me a long time ago. I'm just depressingly resigned to them at this point.

17. What gcomeau said. n/t.

7. Little info on the background.

This is not the first time that El Al is faced with problems with ultra-Orthodox people on board flights to religious sites. In 2002, a flight crew had to prevent an ultra-Orthodox passenger, flying from Israel to Britain, from wrapping himself in plastic bags. The pilot was forced to return to Ben Gurion International airport in order to remove the passenger from the plane. The passenger, a Cohen, wrapped himself in plastic bags for fear that the plane's route would pass through the air above the Holon cemetery and he would consequently become impure.

Rabbi Yosef Shalom Eliashiv, the leader of the Lithuanian Haredi community in Israel, published a halakhic ruling in the past stipulating that Cohens mustn't fly in this plane because they are prohibited from flying over a cemetery. Later, Rabbi Eliashiv found a solution to this issue, ruling that wrapping oneself in thick plastic bags while the plane crossed over the cemetery is permissible.

8. The insane things religious beliefs make people do...

I remember being invited to a snack with a Jewish friend who was just getting into the whole Orthodoxy thing (his parents already were). They laid out plastic on the table we ate at, then rolled it up and threw it away afterwards. Apparently the crumbs from our non-Jew mouths might scum the place up. What a disgusting, horrible religion. Course, the same can be said of most religions, especially when followed consistently.

10. That is racism.

That reminds me of an old racist who used to come into a restaurant I worked at once. He would request that a white person make his sandwich for him. I don't see how the two stories are any different, really. Either way, you're talking about people who are afraid of being contaminated by people who are different from them, whether it's color or religion.

18. did you ask them about it?

Sounds to me like it was a kashruth thing, nothing to do with you or anyone else. Growing up we would bring non kosher food into the house (like pizza or fried chicken) but we would use paper plates, plastic silverware and a plastic tablecloth and throw it all away after.

"What a disgusting, horrible religion" is kind a horrible thing to say, especially since you're assuming that their concern was about you being a non Jew.

14. Looks like performance art to me.

15. The ultra-orthodox flavor of Judaism is full of this kind of nuttery.

More examples: On the Sabbath, you can't set fires, you can't tie or untie knots, you can't build, you have zillions of other silly restrictions, that get interpreted in even more insanely restrictive ways. For example, pushing a button is considered "lighting a fire", so you'll get zotted by God if you ride an elevator on the Sabbath, unless it's a Shabbatovator, or you can get a gentile to push the button for you.